The Verbals came to Backburner from St. John’s, Newfoundland, one by one. First, MC Frank Deluxe crossed the water to study, then Johnny Hardcore followed to make his fortune as a rap star, then Man Alive descended to pillage the mainland, and Lo-Fi… well, he moved out west and married his yoga instructor, so perhaps he had the last laugh on us all.

The Verbals were a force to be reckoned with in Halifax hip-hop. Johnny Hardcore was performing frequently on bills with Backburner posse-mates Jesse Dangerously, Jay Bizzy and occasionally fellow Verbal MC Frank Deluxe in support of his lifetime-in-the-making, self-titled debut album. John used to blow the speakers out at the Khyber Club using only his gravelly voice (you could watch them glow inside when he cupped the mic). He also is the only one in the crew who ever put out an album at all.
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